Thursday, December 10, 2009

Whatever It Takes

If you're a Dallas Cowboy fan, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Nick Folk has been in a slump this season. He's missed 8 field goal attempts this year, which is more than he's missed the rest of his NFL career combined.

There are lots of factors contributing to his slump, though you couldn't really put your finger on one specific cause. It could be that he had surgery on his kicking leg during the off season, and late in the off season at that. It could be that the holder he'd worked with for the last two years was cut. He was a good holder, but isn't there any more, and Mat McBriar was --well, he was the best of what was left. It could be that he missed a couple of field goals early, and just lost his confidence. Add to that that Mat McBriar has botched a few holds, and Folk is probably a bit leery of kicking with him now.

It all adds up to a kicker with the yips.

Now, Nick Folk is a good kicker. He'll work through this eventually. the problem is, with only 4 games left in the season, the Cowboys don't have "eventually" on their calendar. Something has to be done, and now.

Now, normally, a team's back up quarterback is the holder, but Kitna has never done it. The last thing you want is to be in a clutch situation with someone who has never done a job before. Several other players tried out for the job, and while some were better than others, none were really any good at it. Until one man stepped forward. No, he didn't really want to be the holder, but he knew the job needed to be done. Leadership, he said, is doing what needs to be done. That one man knows it's all about the W. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get that W. So he volunteered. That one man stepped forward and said, "I'll do it."